Polish act J.D. Overdrive and Metal Mind Productions label their music 'Southern Rock/Southern Metal', but let's be clear, this ain't no Lynyrd Skynyrd or Corrosion of Conformity my friends. No doubt the 'J.D.' stands for Jack Daniels, so I'm guessing the band loves their whiskey and all things groove laden metal, or, to be more accurate, stoner metal. The Kindness of Death is their third and latest studio release, featuring 11 tracks of stoner rock mixed with the aggression of brutal hardcore. The brief "Fury in Me" is one of the few tunes here that actually comes closest to what we call 'Southern Metal' here in the US, a fun little burner with plenty of thump & groove, and they also get into a similar feel on the mid paced "Dull Knives and Dead Friends", complete with thick, bluesy guitar riffs and one of the more effective vocals from singer Suseł. One of the main problems I have with much of The Kindness of Death is Susel's vocals, which for the most part combines hardcore styled screams, bellows, and growls, at times what he's spewing just seems at odds with the music. When he opts for a more melodic, Southern styled drawl, as he does in spots on "Demon Days", the results are more successful, but unfortunately they don't happen often enough. It's as if he's trying to be a more extreme Phil Anselmo, but the music is never heavy enough to support that theme, and he sticks out like a very sore thumb. Musically, nothing is really bad here, but not overly memorable either. "A Painful Reminder" has some cool riffs & grooves, but a stoner metal really needs some SERIOUS riffs to be successful, and A Kindness of Death doesn't quite have any that make you stand up and take notice.
As I mentioned, A Kindness of Death isn't really a bad album by any stretch of the imagination, but it's also not something to get too excited over. In a very crowded stoner metal scene, J.D. Overdrive are really going to have to come up with something different to get noticed.
Track Listing
1. Wreckage Part I
2. Crippled King
3. The Lesser Evil
4. Fury in Me
5. Dull Knives and Dead Friends
6. Seeds and Stones
7. The Greater Good
8. Demon Days
9. Wreckage Part II
10. A Painful Reminder
11. The Kindest of Deaths
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